Love Will Tear Us Apart
by chimney leaf
Summary: All I know is that if you continue like this, you will only drive her away. This could tear us apart' Oneshot sequel to A Different Attitude.


**This is a short sequel to 'A Different Attitude', and takes place twelve years after Gohan's return in that. I recommend that you read that before this, as you wouldn't understand the references to Mika, the Budokai and why there is only eight years between Trunks and Pan.**

**This was written to clear up any confusion over the end to that story.**

* * *

Gohan slowly opened his eyes, in the familiar surroundings of his bedroom. He had taken his little family out to live in the country near his own parents after Videl had finished her university course. She now worked as one of the top representitives for the Budokai, her title having nothing at all to do with the course she had taken, Law. Even in her studies, it was always about justice.

Gohan himself had strolled into one of the top universities in the country, asking if he could walk straight into a PHD course. Once they knew exactly who he was, they gave him a simple test paper for the course he wanted to be on. Breezing through it, they signed him up instantly. Even in those years with Kai-Oo-Shin, he managed to retain all of the information gathered during his rampage through education along with his sister. After that, finding employment had been a piece of cake.

He had actually enjoyed those years, despite what he knew he was missing. He never asked what exactly was going on down on earth, it was too hard. He just got on with his job in the afterlife. All he had to do was pull a sword out of a huge rock. That had been simple enough. Just why he needed to do that, he was never told him. All Shin told him was that it meant Gohan was definitely the one he had been looking for.

After that, he didn't really need the sword for his tasks, all he had to do was go about the universe, training and teaching. Apparently the Supreme Kai was not supposed to show his face over every little skirmish or war that broke out. The other Kais were quickly being overtaken in powerby many beings on other world, and couldn't cope with their problems as well as they formerly did.

He never encountered anyone particularly strong on his journey, most of them he could have beaten at the age of six. The Supreme Kai, however, had decided that it was high time to reduce the level of evil in the universe down to a more respectable and stable level. After seven years and eight months with Shin and Kibit, he had never been happier that he had removed that sword. Shin had decided that after getting full use out of the sword, it was time to test its limits.

He believed it had none, but it turned out it definitely did. The hardest and most dense substance in the universe, Kat'chin, proved more than a match for the Z-sword. After that, it had been plain sailing. The old man that emerged decided enough evil had been eradicated from the universe, and any more would upset its careful balance. After that, he had released Gohan's full potential, and sent him on his merry way home, giving Gohan his own life. This had coincided with the day of tournament, something Gohan had chosen, emulating his father in the process.

Apparently his mother had known all along that it was truly Gohan, but Videl had been the one he had gone to see that night. She was resting in his arms now, as she slept every night, clinging on to him, not allowing him to leave her ever again in the lonely wilderness she had once been in. She was still as beautiful as she ever had been, even after all these years. She lay naked atop him, apart from one of his white button-ups she always slept in. It was not the original, he had ripped that off her on his first night back in a fit of passion, after having a little trouble with a few buttons, shredding it completely. It had been lucky to endure seven years of wear as it was. Wherever those pieces were, they were nearly twenty years old. She had periodically stolen one of his newer ones ever since, not managing to get out of the habit.

Much like Goku and Goten had done, he had bonded with his own daughter instantly, perhaps due to their great similarities, after his resurrection. She was everything he had hoped she would grow up to be, but he always felt like he had only had small part to play in that, despite the closeness they had shared over the last twelve years. Pan was now nineteen years old, was smart, caring, strong and beautiful. He was not surprised at the last one, she took after her mother, apart from her eyes that could only be from a saiyan, pitch black in colour, and had developed a great deal over the last five years, attracting the attentions of a number of male admirers.

Gohan now knew what Mr Satan had felt. No one would ever be good enough for his daughter, and he employed the rule of 'no one stronger than me'. Unlike Mr Satan, there actually was no one stronger than Gohan in the universe, let alone the planet at the current time. And if someone came along that was, it was hardly likely that they would be suitable for Pan. That made her untouchable, just like Videl was supposed to have been. Gohan doubted that there would be any human male that could handle a Saiyan woman anyway. Mika had proven that by the amount of boyfriends she had chewed up in the last twenty years. None had ever lasted, none even lasting the distance to find out what she really was anyway.

There was only one person that could possibly handle Pan, and his name brought a scowl to his face when he heard it in the same sentence as his daughter's. Trunks. Gohan had nothing against the boy, and he was an incredibly close friend, they were almost brothers. As long as he was fifty feet from Pan at the time. Any closer, and he became a new enemy that had to be neutralised at all costs.

Much to Gohan's displeasure, the floppy-haired fool had been spending a long time around their house lately, usually with Goten, but often without. This led to 'training' sessions that went far out into the woods, and only involved Pan and Trunks. His wife had prevented him from pursuing by telling him it was harmless fun, 'just a bit of training', she said. He hoped she was right.

As he thought of his wife, she stirred in his arms, eyes opening, the smile on her face that she gave him every morning. "Good morning."

"Great night." He said, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Mm-Hm." She mumbled. She put her head back onto his chest, closing her eyes again. It was saturday, no need to get up early. She groaned, the open window bringing a cool breeze into the room. Gohan, who was not affected by the cold as she was, pulled her even closer to him, and wrapped his arms around her ever tighter, warming her body.

An hour later, they were forced to arise from their peaceful slumber by Gohan's rumbling stomach. Videl made herself a bit more respectable, but still wandered down to the kitchen with the shirt on, Gohan following soon after, fully clothed, never wanting to walk around the house half naked. He never minded when Videl did it though. Silently walking up behind her as she reached high into the cupboards, he grasped her hips in his palms, giving her a bit of a shock.

"Gohan!" She pleaded. "Not here." He didn't listen to her, but instead turned her, lifting her onto the counter.

"Oh, would you two stop it!" Pan shrieked, as she entered the kitchen. "Didn't you get enough last night." Gohan stepped back, Videl sliding from her seat to her feet, looking away embarrassed. She didn't think that they had been _that_ loud.

Pan had come to expect this from her parents. They weren't yet even forty, it was to be expected of them, especially of a Saiyan marriage. Not to mention the fact that they had missed the majority of each other's prime. But they still did not have to go at it all over the house, especially when she was somewhere inside. She herself had not yet succumbed to her passions as they had done at such an early age, her father was even stricter than Videl's own, Pan's grandfather Mr Satan. It wasn't as though she hadn't found anyone, she had found someone years ago. It had simply been a matter of getting them to love her in return, waiting for the age gap to become less noticeable. And less illegal at the same time.

"Is it all right is Trunks comes over later today?" Gohan unconsciously growled at the sound of the name coming from his daughter's lips. Videl smacked him on the arm.

"Of course dear, he's welcome whenever."

"Yes. Whenever." Gohan spoke, grinding his teeth.

"Will he be alone?" Videl asked.

"Yeah, Goten's taking some girl to the city." The three of them, Pan, Goten and Trunks had all been close, the boys looking after Pan as a child, babysitting often when Videl needed a rest. It was easy for them to fly over to Satan's mansion and take her off her hands, this before Pan had begun training there at the weekend. Pan was trusted with the two boys by all of the adults, even before they were teens, something that they greatly appreciated.

Quite often, on saturdays, the three of them would go out and spar all day long. Goten went through girlfriends these days as quickly as Mika had boyfriends at his age, relishing his mid-twenties for all they were worth. This resulted in numerous days where Pan was alone with Trunks, something her father became suspicious of very quickly. He had absolutely nothing to suspect though, Pan thought, bitterly.

Trunks seemed to be taking a long time to love her as she loved him. She didn't even know if he had ever thought of her in that way before, even as a woman. To him she was probably still a little girl, somone to be molly-coddled and wrapped in cotton wool. He probably had loads of girls after him, his own age. He was twenty-seven, eight years her senior. But yet, she knew that she caught him looking at her, on more than one occasion in an odd fashion. He claimed there was something on her face every time, but she prayed there was so much more to those looks.

"You two play nicely. We'll see you later, your father and I need to go to the city. Your grandfather has hurt his back again, that old fool." Videl told her.

"Ok, say hi to him for me." She remained in the kitchen as her mother picked at her grapefruit, and father devoured a mountain of greasy foods. Gohan lectured her on the importance of obeying one's parents while Videl dressed, and then the two left in the car to the city together. It wasn't necessary to fly everywhere _all_ of the time.

Minutes later, she sensed Trunks' arrival. She moved to the grass outside of her house to await him, the breeze blowing her raven black locks into her eyes. Brushing them away, she spotted him landing a little way from the house waving in greeting to her. He had an odd look in his eyes as he approached her, one that she didn't recognise in him. He looked to be nervous, and _very_ scared. He was looking all around him, obviously trying to find someone or something.

"Is your father here Pan?" He questioned nervously.

"No, he just took my mother to the city. Why? What's wrong?" She was anxious to know what was up with him.

"This is hard for me Pan. What I have to say is not easy. I've been thinking a lot, about myself. And you."

"Me?" She whispered, hoping that this was leading where she thought it could.

He didn't seem to be able to summon any more words, and took her face in his hands, kissing her gently on the lips. She almost squeaked at the contact, but held herself together, moving her hand up behind his head, nestling in his long, purple tresses. They stood there for minutes, until she felt Trunks pulling back. Pulling back rather too quickly.

His body was ripped from her grip, and he was thrown ten feet backwards, flat on his back. Before her, she saw her father stood tall, almost in physical defence of her. His ki had skyrocketed, and from that, she knew he was _mad._

"What are you doing dad!" She screamed at him.

"I think that I should be asking you the same thing, don't you?" He retorted back at her, angry eyes flaring. Trunks had now got to his feet, and realised the seriousness of the situation.

"Gohan, please." He begged. "Don't blow this out of proportion."

"You!" He shouted, turning back to his daughter's 'assailant'. Trunks stood his ground, refusing to run away. Perhaps Gohan would respect him for that. If not, he was prepared to take a beating for the girl he loved. Gohan paced over to the younger saiyan. "You know the rules, Trunks."

He suddenly had a wave of courage. "They're hardly fair Gohan! How do you expect me to be stronger than you? It's impossible. You never proved that you were stronger than Mr Satan before you went and slept with Videl." He gestured to the woman, who now stood with Pan. She had raced back in the air after sensing Gohan's ki explode. Her limited sensing abilities at least allowed her that much information. He had left her in the car as he flew back for his wallet, that he had left on the kitchen table.

Gohan moved ever closer to Trunks. 'Kakarot's line' produced far taller males than Vegeta's, and Gohan was the largest of them all, which, along with him being the most powerful, made him seem extremely daunting to Trunks at the moment, as he towered over him. "There was a subtle difference in that case Trunks. I actually _was_ stronger than Videl's father." He was about to prove his point, when his wife shouted to him.

"Gohan! Stop it!" She pleaded. He lowered his fist, she had complete control over him, he would do anything she asked.

"Just get outta here Trunks." He sighed. "Before I do something I regret." Trunks heeded his warning, and shot off into the sky, thanking the heavens that his face was still intact.

Pan, now sobbing due to her father's insane antics, ran from her mother's arms back inside the house, slamming as many doors as possible on the way to her bedroom in as childish fashion as was necessary.

"You can't do this to her Gohan. She'll never find anyone stronger than you. Not _my_ husband. You expect her to go through life alone, ending up a haggard old spinster?" She placed a reassuring arm on his upper arm as he looked up to her window, where she had just pulled the curtains violently shut. "What does strength matter? If you had lost to my father, no matter how weak you might have been, I still would have fought tooth and nail to be with you. It didn't matter to me that you were the strongest in the universe, or that you were half alien. You got me pregnant before I knew any of that stuff. Nothing stands in the way of love, not even an over-protective father."

"It's not about strength Videl. No one will ever be good enough for her. Trunks is the only one suitable for her. I would allow it if he had a job, had a home, even if he ran a car with his own money."

"He could have a job at Capsule Corporation in an instant."

"Exactly. But he doesn't. Goten and he just sit around all day drinking beer and playing video games. They're a real pair of wasters at the moment. When I was in my twenties, I was either dead, or working, trying to provide for my family. If he pulled himself together, I would have no objections to him and her being together. Hopefully Goten would follow suit too, but that'd be too much to ask for I think."

"All I know is that if you continue like this, you will only drive her away. This could tear us apart."

He sighed, looking at her in the eye dejectedly. "I just don't want to lose her."

"I know." She left his side, and went to check on her deeply upset daughter.

Videl's words made sense in his mind, but he couldn't bear the thought of Pan ending up wasting her life. She was doing well at university, she didn't need Trunks dragging her down. She would never be happy in the long run if he continued on his current course in life. If only he took up his mother's offer to take the reins at Capsule Corporation, and did something with his life, Gohan would be happy for Pan to spend the rest of her life with him.

He had to find him. _Now_. Or else risk losing his daughter forever. He had to plead with him to achieve his mind's potential. That was what mattered to Gohan. He could be the weakest being on the planet, and Gohan wouldn't care, as long as he could make his daughter happy. It was just a bonus that he was in the top five strongest on the planet, and happened to be a saiyan.

He reached out, trying to sense Trunks, wherever he was in the world. He could sense him flying around the globe, without any obvious purpose in where he was going. He took off at full speed in his genereal direction.

* * *

Trunks sensed Gohan's immense ki coming directly towards him, and began to panic. There was no point running, he would never be quick enough to elude Gohan. Besides, there was no where he could go. No force on the planet could protect him from an angry father, especially when it happened to be Gohan. Even his own father wouldn't stand a chance, as they had seen at the Budokai twelve years previous. He probably agreed with Gohan anyway.

Descending to the ground, he decided there was only one course of action. Allow whatever was coming to come. He immediately felt his ki rise in his panic, but stopped himself just short of transforming. He didn't want to make it appear as though he was challenging the older saiyan that was now within sight. This time he did not have Videl to hold Gohan back.

Gohan landed twenty feet in front of him, and Trunks attempted to stand tall and proud. As Gohan strode towards him, he felt his knees almost buckle. He had never been so scared in his life, and it was of a man whom he could almost call 'brother'.

What Gohan said next was certainly unexpected by Trunks, he hadn't expected words at all.

"I'm sorry."

"What!" He gasped.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I took things way out of proportion. It's hard for me to think of her growing up, I missed so much of her childhood. You must understand." Trunks could only nod, lost for words. "I want you to take care of her Trunks. And if you don't really love her, and mess her around, I _will_ kill you." He stated, in the deadly tone he only summoned in the most serious of situations.

The younger man nodded without hesitation, he had known he had been in love with her for the last two years, Gohan one of the reasons he had been so afraid to admit to his feelings. "I want you to get a job, get a stable life together before you come anywhere near her. Got that?"

"Yes." It was the first word he had spoken during this interchange.

"You're coming with me. I'll let you speak to her once more, explain what you are going to do for her. Follow me." He took off into the air, Trunks immediately following him, not wanting to argue.

Once home, Gohan took hold of Trunks' upper arm, and marched him to Pan's door. Flinging it open, he saw his wife and daughter sitting together on her bed, the younger of the two teary eyed and puffy-faced.

While still having hold of the man, he grasped his wife under her arm, and threw Trunks down next to his daughter. Wordlessly, he led his wife out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I knew you'd come around."

"I'm still not too happy about it, but I'll live."

"Oh no, my father!" Videl exclaimed.

"What?"

"We promised to see him, his back remember, come on." She started towards the door, but was halted by Gohan's strong arms around her.

"It's quicker this way." She 'oohed' at the contact, mid morning as it was, they normally did this when they were in the 'mood'.

"I didn't know you cared so much about my father."

"I don't. The quicker we get there, the more time I'll spend watching him in pain."


End file.
